''Zero Hour'' is a 2006 one-person

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

written and performed by

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

Jim Brochu Jim Brochu (born August 16, 1946) is an American actor, writer, director, and playwright. Born in Brooklyn, Brochu studied at Carnegie-Mellon University and received his B.A. from St. Francis College. His stage debut was in a production of Willi ...

and directed by actress

Piper Laurie Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''The Hustler'' (1961), '' Carrie'' (1976), and '' Children of a Lesser God'' (1986), all of which brought her Academy Award no ...

. In a

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...

reflection on

Zero Mostel Samuel Joel "Zero" Mostel (February 28, 1915 – September 8, 1977) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye on stage in ''Fiddler on the Roof'', Pseudolus on stage and on ...

, Brochu portrays the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

actor and comedian giving a fictional interview with an unseen ''New York Times'' reporter shortly before Mostel's death in 1977. Brochu's Mostel recounts his life and career; he describes the impact of the

Hollywood blacklist The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying emplo ...

on himself and his friends, including his testimony before the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

, as well as his success with ''

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specifica ...

'', ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

'' and the original movie version of '' The Producers''. A lifelong admirer of Mostel, Brochu found inspiration during his research into the adversity Mostel faced, including his parents' rejection of his marriage to a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

woman and a bus accident that resulted in a severe leg injury, and how his "sense of humor saved him". Writing the play during intermissions of another show he was working on, Brochu also drew upon his own recollections of Mostel, including seeing the actor in ''Forum'' and visiting him backstage:

I went down and Zero was outside of his dressing room reading the Riot Act to one of the other actors. The actor had upstaged him or done something. He was screaming at this actor and finished with, Now never do it again! The actor walked away and he looked at me and said, Well, hello!. How are you? Come visit me.

After seeing the play, Mostel contemporary

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in films, including '' The African Queen'' (1951), ''Moulin Rouge'' (1952), ' ...

wrote to Brochu, "Thank you for bringing back a volcano that we thought was long extinct." The play premiered at the Egyptian Arena Theatre in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, presented by the West Coast Jewish Theatre and directed by Paul Kreppel. It won the 2006

Ovation Award The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Winne ...

for "World Premiere Play." It began a limited

Off Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

run at St. Clement's Theatre beginning November 14, 2009, officially December 22, and running through January 31, 2010. Bochu won the 2010

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

for Outstanding Solo Performance.Gans, Andre
"Red, Memphis, Bridge, Fences and La Cage Win Drama Desk Awards"
playbill.com, May 23, 2010

References

{{reflist

External links

The Play's Official Website
American plays 2006 plays Jewish American plays Biographical plays about actors Off-Broadway plays Plays set in New York City Plays set in the 1970s Cultural depictions of actors Cultural depictions of comedians